Death in a White Tie -
Ngaio Marsh
1938 - Geoffrey Bles, London - First Edition “It is a curious thing that when one speaks from the heart it is invariably in the worst of taste.’

First edition of Marsh’s Death in a White Tie , and the seventh novel to feature the famed gentleman detective, Roderick Alleyn. Known as one of the seminal ‘Queens of Crime’, alongside titans such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Marsh became one of the most influential crime writers of the 20th century, her novels recognisable for their witty dialogue, realistic settings, and fast paced plotting. ‘In her ironic and witty hands the mystery novel can be civilized literature.'’ --New York TimesNgaio Marsh: (1895- 1982). ‘New Zealand author and theater director; one of the “Queens of Crime” in the British Golden Age. She established herself firmly in the classical tradition of the English detective novel with her first book, A Man Lay Dead (1934), written during her first visit to England.’Provenance: from the library of Anthony Berkeley (1893 -1971), crime fiction writer and founder of the Detection Club in 1928, and whose initial membership included Agatha Christie, Freeman Wills Crofts, Dorothy Sayers and other established mystery writers, interesting to note that the last of the golden age crime writers to join the club was Ngaio Marsh in 1974! Berkeley wrote under the name of Francis Iles amongst others. Provenance was noted in pencil by the legendary book dealer Peter Jolliffe (1947-2007) of Ulysses Books, Bloomsbury.